Inheritance
by Black Sun Upon An Icy Sky
Summary: Aizen is already near his goal to conquer the throne to the heavens, only to be stopped by heaven's army itself/Revision of Family Duties/IchiRuki
1. Prelude of a Shattering World

**Inheritance**

**-o-**

_Or Family Duties revised. Since I'm in a dump with most of my stories, I'll just restart an old, finished series, especially seeing I think the old version was crap. Serious crap._

_So, enjoy the changes I made, and enjoy the fact my grammar improved XD_

**-o-**

**Ichi: **_Prelude of a Shattering World_

**-o-**

His vision was blurry.

Around him huge chunks of debris littered the marred floor constructed of black marble. Out of the corner of his eyes he could faintly recognize the two white blurs he knew to be his friends, who had stood by him even when he lost control over the raging beast inside his battered soul. What had been left of the Cuarta Espada was gone with the wind, his ashes mixing with the sand of the Empty World.

A sigh escaped him, a small drizzle of blood escaping the corner of his mouth, and he choked.

"Damn it..." More blood fell from his lips, and his sight flashed black for an instant, dizzying him.

The sanguine liquid was rushing in his ears, overruling any clear thought he may have conceived. _It sounds like an ocean..._

The hand around Zangetsu's black hilt tightened, teeth grinding together and eyes narrowing. "What good... am I getting beaten up like this? What would they... think... of me right now? Of their..." His voice died, and the rushing blood in his ears made him unable to hear the opening of the bright white shôji doors only a few feet to his left. Only when a soft, delicate hand landed on his hair did his head jerk around, more blood spilling from his mouth, brown eyes widening. "You..."

The woman in the purple haori smiled, and his eyelids grew heavy. "It's alright now, Ichigo-sama."

And his world turned black.

**-o-**

Droplets of red splashed onto his pale, smiling face, his silver blade glinting in the morning sunlight as the last Shinigami fell in front of him, Zanpakutô broken and life seeping from him.

"How... foolish, to send... _pawns_ to defend this fake. Pathetic."

Behind the brunette traitor a cold smile spread on a snake-like face, only hints of colorless eyes visible beneath the thick lashes of Ichimaru Gin.

"Indeed."

The third traitor in their rows simply stared onwards with sightless eyes, not saying a word.

And without a single look back did the trio step forward, leaving a shattered world behind.

**-o-**

_Aah, yes, it's short, so sue me XD It was only the prologue :3_

_I dunno when I'll write another chapter for this revision, but I doubt you'll be any more pissed at me than with my other stories, so I don't really mind XD_


	2. A Fool's Resolution

**Inheritance**

**-o-**

_**The wise man does at once what the fool does finally.**_

_Niccolo Machiavelli_

**-o-**

**Ni: **_A Fool's Resolution_

**-o-**

When he blinked his eyes open he had the immediate urge to close them again. His dry lips parted slightly, letting the warm air of the room enter his raspy lungs.

"I see you're awake, Ichigo-sama."

Hearing the female voice next to him he snapped his head around, staring at the brown-haired woman, the pain the light brought him momentarily forgotten. Instead his brown orbs widened. "Kirio?"

Hikifune Kirio just stared blankly at him, a hint of sadness in her black eyes, and having identified her he let his gaze travel around the interior of the room he was lying in, finding it to be one of the royal chambers in the palace. Seeing Kirio brought him there that in and for itself wasn't a strange occurrence, but having her bring him there in the first place meant...

His amber eyes snapped back to her, just in time to see tears in her own. "No way..."

**-o-**

Kuchiki Rukia slowly came back to consciousness when she felt the odd but familiar sensation of her flesh closing by sheer force of reiatsu, the thought alone always bringing a nauseating feeling to her stomach. Her bleary eyes only barely made out purple, black and... magenta?

The magenta-haired person above her flinched when she started to move, quickly pressing a hand to her freshly healed shoulder, at which Rukia realized it was a woman. "Don't, Rukia-sama, I'm not done healing you, yet."

The weakened Shinigami blinked tiredly. "Who...?"

"That's not important now, Rukia-sama."

Before Rukia could ask why she addressed her with such politeness, consciousness slipped her.

**-o-**

Kurosaki Ichigo was running down the long hallways of the royal palace, amber eyes wide with anxious fear of what he might find when he opened the door that was his destination. The royal guard was following him, a sad expression on her face as she watched the orange-head closely.

The young Shinigami was gasping and panting when he finally reached the large, golden shoji doors bearing the family crest, and with one final intake of air Ichigo gripped their side, pushing them open and entering the huge chambers of the Spirit King.

There, in front of the young man, lay the sick king in his bed, weak and dying. Ichigo's arms fell to his sides, and a pained expression made its way on his face.

"Ojisan..."

His uncle's face turned towards him, a sad smile on his pale face. "I'm glad you came..."

In an instant the young orange-head was beside his sick uncle, staring at his face sadly while he knelt down next to the bed. "Why didn't you tell me it was getting so bad? Does Dad know yet?"

His uncle shook his head, coughing. "No, and I don't want him to know."

The young boy's temper flared at this. "He's your brother."

Kurosaki Ieyasu's face fell as he averted his face, frowning. "We haven't spoken in decades, it's alright the way it is." Turning back to his nephew he narrowed his eyes. "How are things going?"

He lowered his head, orange bangs covering his face as he turned away slightly. "Horrible. Kirio said they entered Soul Society half an hour ago."

Silence enveloped the large chambers then, neither speaking a word. Slowly, hesitantly, did Kirio step forward, taking an old, intricately ornated dagger from the bed's side table, closing Ichigo's slack fingers around its hilt. "It's time, Ichigo-sama."

Amber eyes were dull as they stared at the shining silver blade, his grip tightening as he rose onto the bed and hovered over his dying uncle. He took a shaky breath, biting his lip, before he locked eyes with him again. "I'm sorry."

**-o-**

The burning in his left shoulder blade subsided at the same time as his uncle took his last breath, and a single tear escaped his painfully composed face and fell onto the unmoving person underneath him.

"Ichigo-sama..." Her voice startled him from his silent reverie, and he quickly gained his bearings back, moving away from his uncle's dead body. With one heavy intake of air he took the deep blue haori Kirio offered him, putting it on as he made his way out of the chambers, towards the gates.

And just before he exited the room his dead uncle lay in, he whispered one last sayonara to the man he hadn't known for more than six months, yet found himself bond and relate with in less than a week.

With that he left the man he killed behind, ready for war.

And resolute to kill the man to cause this all.


End file.
